NATCHITOCHES – Less than 24 hours after throwing a no-hitter, Northwestern State found itself on the other side of one on Saturday afternoon.
 
The difference? The Demons still won.
 
Despite not recording a single hit against Missouri State (11-7), the Demons (8-13) capitalized on walks, a hit batter and an error to score five first-inning runs and secure a 5-3 victory. They followed it up with a 13-0 run-rule win against UAPB (2-10) to sweep day two of the City of Lights Classic.
 
"In my 17 years now of coaching that has never happened so I guess I just keep checking things off on the list of things," Fuller said jokingly win in game one. "But it was a win and we'll take it. They walked us a lot and we kept scoring without getting a hit. Missouri State is a good team so glad to get a win against them. The bats came alive in the second game and we got rolling there offensively."
 
Patience at the plate was the name of the game from the start for the Demons against Missouri State.
 
Nine straight pitches out of the zone to start the game from Bear starter Brylee Brewster made it easy to stick to the game plan. The first three batters of the game all walked on 13 total pitches, with the first run of the game coming on a would-be ball four that hit Brynn Daniel in the hand.
 
After a pitching change and a ground ball back to the pitcher for a force out at home, two more walks brought in two more runs for the Demons. Camryn Becnel put a ball in play to short, with the resulting throwing error allowing two more runs to score giving NSU a 5-0 lead all without a hit.
 
"We saw in film earlier in the day that she could have some control issues if she wasn't spot on," JT Smith said, who drew two of the nine total walks by the Demons in the game. "As a leadoff its really important to see some pitches and luckily I didn't necessarily have to swing the bat. She gave me four balls and I'll gladly take that. Sophia did the same thing behind me, then Sister and Brynn. I think it was just contagious, knowing what the people in front of you did and not trying to do too much in that situation."
 
That was the offense for the Demons as the only baserunners to reach the rest of the way came on walks or batters being hit by pitches, but it was enough for Buster in the circle and the stellar defense played behind her.
 
Thanks to a long list of highlight reel plays from Riley Schwisow and third and Camryn Becnel at short, the Demons held the Bears scoreless through three innings. A leadoff double in the fourth led to the first run of the game for Missouri State, and a leadoff error in the fifth led to the second.
 
The Bears started the seventh with a base hit as well, which resulted in their third run on their second double of the game three batters later. Two-hole hitter Halle Studer made a bid at a game-tying home run or at the very least extra bases three pitches later, but freshman Mckenna Rinewalt, who entered the game an inning prior and staying in defensively, made a crashing catch at the wall to complete the wild win.
 
"Buster is cool and calm out there every time and she really relied on the defense today and they came through big time," Fuller said. "Shoutout to Mckenna for that huge catch she made at the end. I thought that ball was going over the fence but she ran right into the wall and secured the win for us."
 
The Demons had a similar approach early in the second game against UAPB, drawing four walks in the first five batters of the game to take an early 1-0 lead. This time however the first hit of the game opened the floodgates.
 
Peyton Young lined one past the glove of the second baseman into right field, where an error led to three runs and Young on third base with the Demons up 4-0. They did not look back from there. A Britt Bourgoyne RBI single added to the lead and a Smith triple down the left field line made it a 7-0 game after one inning.
 
"I've always been told that every game has its own life and that rang true today," Smith said. "We did good in the first game by capitalizing on what the pitchers gave us and were able to score five runs without a hit. We were frustrated at the end about not getting any hits but excited that we won. So for the second game we went in with confidence after what we did yesterday and I think that showed."
 
Aly Delafield and Makynlie Jones both picked up RBI singles in the second inning as the NSU onslaught continued. Five straight batters drove in a run in the inning starting with Jones' base hit, including a second triple in the game for Smith, who thought she had finally struck her first home run as a Demon.
 
"I thought I put some good swings on the ball today, two got caught at the fence in the first game and I really think everyone is just trying to get that monkey off their back for their first home run," Smith said with a smile. "I was ready to put my hands up and celebrate when I saw it hit the fence so I put my head down and said I got to run and do my job now."
 
It was the first time since Hayley Barbazon in 2018 that a Demon hit two triples in the same game.

With plenty of offensive support behind her, freshman Grace Birk earned her first collegiate win in the circle. Making her fifth career start, Birk allowed just three hits in 4.0 innings, striking out two and walking one. Erin Kirkland closed the door, retiring four of the five batters she faced with a pair of strikeouts.

The Demons scored 12 first-inning runs across the two games Saturday, just three of them coming via hit.
For a program that spent much of last season searching for ways to finish games, Saturday offered another sign of tangible progress. The two victories give NSU more wins in the first four weeks of the 2026 season than it had all of 2025, and showed that this team can win in more than one way.

The Demons wrap up play in the City of Lights Classic on Sunday with an 11 a.m. matchup against UAPB